


Moonlight sonata

by MyLadyDay



Series: Think of all the roads [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Detective Steve Rogers, M/M, Meet-Cute, Musician Bucky Barnes, Post-Serum Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-05-31 07:20:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6461059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyLadyDay/pseuds/MyLadyDay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve can't fall asleep these days without the music coming from the apartment next door.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moonlight sonata

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wherethesunmeetsthemoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wherethesunmeetsthemoon/gifts).



> Not too happy about this one, but I told Wherethesunmeetsthemoon this scene I had and she wanted me to write it

Peggy pulled over in front of Steve's building, turning towards him as soon as she parked. "Are you sure you want to keep a kitten considering you're a workaholic that lives at the precinct?" she asked, one of her perfect eyebrows arching as she looked at him in that scrutinizing way of hers.

"Yes, I'm sure," Steve said, even if he was far from sure. He worked too much and didn't spend nearly enough time at home to take care of himself, let alone another living being, he could admit as much. But this somehow felt like more than just a stray kitten he'd found at a crime scene and taken in because the only other option was an animal shelter. It was hard to say why that struck him, but here he was with a sleeping kitten in his lap and Peggy staring at him as if she knew exactly what was going through his head.

"You have the weekend off so you can treat this as a test run," she said diplomatically. "We can find him a new home next week if you change your mind." It sounded like she was sure he'd change his mind.

The lack of trust was slightly disarming, even if she did have a point about how much he worked and the fact he was almost never in the apartment. They'd been partners since they both became homicide detectives and she knew everything about his habits, both good and bad. When it came to work, the bad outweighed the good, unfortunately.

"We'll be fine," he said with a newfound determination. Maybe with someone waiting for him at the apartment, he'd be more likely to come back every day. He was putting a lot of faith into a kitten here. "I'll see you on Monday," he added before scooping up the kitten into the palm of his hand and getting out of the car without giving Peggy a chance to say anything else. She let him get away with it this time.

The apartment looked just as he'd left it in the morning, fairly clean and looking almost as if no one lived there. Considering he only ever came by to sleep, that assessment was half true too. The kitten didn't so much as stir the entire time Steve was walking and going through the motions of removing his shoes, leaving the bag with kitten necessities on the kitchen counter and finally depositing the kitten itself on the couch.

Once his hand was empty, he was at a loss for what to do next, other than removing his jacket. He suddenly found himself with a pet in an apartment that seemed foreign to him just as much as it'd be to the kitten. But that wasn't something to dwell on at this time of night, noting it was nearing midnight when he took out his phone from his jacket pocket. All too suddenly, he was ready to crash, the day's stress crashing down on him.

He always felt drained after coming from a crime scene even if it was a simple case of arresting the murderer that hadn't left the victim's apartment. Their cases were rarely this simple, but that didn't make their job any easier, not with knowing that someone just died long before their time. It weighed on him and he knew he shouldn't let it, but there was no helping it.

So he'd set out two bowls for the still unnamed kitten, one with water and another for the dry food he'd gotten, leaving them in the kitchen. He checked on the kitten, making sure he still hadn't moved, then walked to his bedroom. It was the only room in the place that looked like someone still lived there and it was by far his favorite room in the apartment.

The music drifted in just as he entered the room, like it usually did around this hour every night. The window was cracked open, letting the sound in, loud enough to be heard, but not too loud that it would keep Steve awake at night. In fact, it was the only reason he could sleep most nights, no matter whether it was classical music or a very enthusiastic version of 'My heart will go on'. The sound of a piano was always a soothing one to Steve, even if he never learned to play. Ever since his next door neighbor moved in, though, he was lulled to sleep by the soft sounds of it.

Steve had met Bucky shortly after he'd moved in, when he came over to warn Steve about possible noise due to him playing the piano a lot. There was no reason for Steve to mind, though, considering he was rarely there and he'd said as much, earning a wide grin from Bucky. That alone made it worth the surprise when Steve had come later that night, dead on his feet and dropping into bed without bothering to take his clothes off only to freak out and fall out of bed around midnight when O Fortuna started playing ominously through the wall. It was closely followed by the Imperial March and Steve almost laughed himself to sleep, deciding not to complain about the absolutely unreasonable time Bucky decided to practice.

Tonight's choice was Beethoven's Moonlight sonata and Steve could have wept; it'd been his mother's favorite and just hearing it played like this, in the dead of night after a day far too long, almost brought tears to his eyes. Steve stripped swiftly, getting into bed while the music still played and drifted off as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He was woken by a purry weight on his face and it was almost enough to make him freak out from the fear of being suffocated, but opening his eyes revealed that his attacker was a fluffy black kitten with big eyes. Not an immediate danger, given that the kitten didn't look very dedicated to ending his life so Steve removed it from his face and let it settle next to him before they both drifted off again.

Having a day off was weird in itself, especially of going on for so long, he had no idea what to do with a day off, let alone a whole weekend. Other than dusting the frankly alarming amount of dust around the apartment and cleaning out the spoiled food from the fridge, Steve had no idea what to do. For a brief moment, he thought he should have gotten a puppy. That way he'd at least be forced to go out and take a walk instead of sitting on the couch with no purpose other than forcing himself not to go into the precinct unless he wanted Peggy to shoot him for coming in on yet another day off.

Watching the still unnamed kitten wander around before settling somewhere around him for a nap the entire day, Steve was struck with a desire to sketch for the first time in ages and did so with pleasure, allowing himself to get lose in what he was drawing instead of minding his phone the entire time in case it rang with news of a new murder to solve. He'd already forgotten how easy it was to pass the time when he was lost in his drawing, filling page after page with doodles and studies of the downright ridiculous poses his unnamed kitten slept in. If he hadn't had a few cats growing up, he'd have thought the poor kitten's spine was broken several times during the day. Cats are so fucking weird, he though more than once during the day.

And just like that, the day passed with no calls, no case files or reports to speak of. It was almost overwhelming to just do nothing the entire day. He was no longer used to it, really, but it felt less lonely with a ball of black fluff sticking close to him the entire day. As he settled into bed, he didn't have the heart to kick the kitten out of bed and surprisingly managed to fall asleep to the sound of purring instead of a piano playing.

It was the piano that woke him, drawing a smile in reaction even as he lay there half asleep, but not mad at the fact his sleep was interrupted. He didn't have time to recognize the song being played, though, as it was cut short by a shout of something obscene followed by a dull thud, making Steve jump out of bed alert and ready to fight. The room was still completely dark unsurprisingly, considering it was only around midnight judging by the playing, but he had no problem navigating his room even in the dark.

He could hear muffled curses through the wall, something scraping against the floorboards loudly as if someone was scrambling to get away and didn't care about knocking over furniture. It made Steve hurry for his gun, sparing no thought to the fact he was half naked and his Batman print boxers weren't made to frighten.

There was some pride to be had in the fact he got through the dark apartment with only stubbing his toe once before he was out in the hall and knocking on Bucky's door. More like banging, but he had no time to worry about waking the neighbors. At least the ones that weren't woken by the loud sounds coming from Bucky's apartment. Steve could see the door to the apartment on the other side of Bucky's was open, Kate the college student peeking out with tired but curious eyes. Steve waved her off.

"I've got this, go back inside," he said, waiting at the door.

"Should I call the cops?" she asked quietly, nothing but the top of her head and her eyes visible from behind the door.

"No, it's okay, I'll call for backup."

She nodded before retreating inside and closing the door behind her.

As soon as she was gone, the door in front of Steve banged open, revealing Bucky in all his frazzled glory. His left arm was cradled to his chest, but Steve focused on Bucky's face and the embarrassment he saw there. It was enough to make Steve lower his gun and relax a fraction.

"Steve, hi," Bucky said with a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

"Are you okay?" Steve asked, seeing nothing behind Bucky with the lights turned off. "It sounded like you were being murdered in there." He was aiming for light, but his tone sounded strained even to him.

The words just made Bucky blush as far as Steve could tell in the dark.

"I, uh..." he started, pausing to clear his throat before he said anything, "I thought there was a demon in my apartment."

"A demon?" Steve asked slowly, unsure whether Bucky was joking or not. "You thought you saw a demon and freaked out?"

"In my defense, I was only starting to play when a pair of yellow eyes popped up on the piano," Bucky said with a grimace. "Of course I freaked out. That'll teach me to play in the dark when I can't sleep."

"You play the piano in the dark?"

"Yup," Bucky replied simply.

"Okay, so what happened to this demon of yours?" Steve asked, relaxing completely now that he knew there was no danger even if the story Bucky told sounded ridiculous.

Instead of a reply from Bucky, though, Steve got a muffled 'meow' from where Bucky's hand was still cradled to his chest. After a bit of shuffling, Steve was presented with two yellow eyes against the black of Bucky's shirt. Steve couldn't help it, he laughed. Probably too loud in the dead of night, but he just couldn't stop. He had no idea how the kitten got out of his apartment or into Bucky's, but clearly he was a crafty little thing.

"I see you've met my new roommate," he said between laughs. "And you gave me an idea on what to name him, thanks."

Bucky looked amused as well, though he hadn't laughed quite as loudly as Steve. "You've taught him to scare your neighbors before you named him? That's harsh."

"It's only been a day, give me a break," Steve said with a smile, not mentioning that he wasn't completely sure he was keeping the kitten in the first place even though he wanted to.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm onto you," Bucky chuckled before handing over the kitten. "I don't mind hanging out with your little friend here, but try and give me a heads up before sending him over."

"You could come by to hang out in the morning," Steve offered. "For coffee, maybe?" Maybe having a couple of days off wasn't that bad if the way Bucky looked at him was any indication.

"I'd love to," he said with a smile. "I'll bring the coffee if you keep the demon away."

Steve offered another laugh. "Good night, Bucky," he said with a grin before walking away to his own apartment and back into bed. The music started only a few minutes later, uninterrupted this time and Steve managed to fall asleep with the kitten on his chest, probably more excited than he should be about coffee with Bucky.


End file.
